, 1887-08-19
WHERE CELERY'S KING.
KALAMAzoo's THRIFTY HOLLAND
ERS RECLAIM A BIG MARSH.

Three Thousand Acres of Useless Swamp
Transformed Into the Finest Celery
Beds in Observation-Disclosures Made at
the Business.
1t is in and around the fair and far
famed city of Kalamazoo that the celery
lord, with all his innate pride and odor Of
garlic, may best be found. Here his coat
OF arms, consisting of a bunch of celery
penchant on Il silver dollar guardant, may
be seen emblaZoned on his armorial bear
ings and also on the faces Of the shop
keepers. Here it is that over 5000 acres
of reclaimed lane is devoted to the cul-
tivation of the crisp and toothsome stalk
that is gifted with nerve Strengthening
properties. 1t is a saying that in Kala-
mazoo they swear by celery and at every
thing else. The latter proposition may be
n trife harsh, but the former is self evil
dent to any visitor. In spite of the fact
that Kalamazoo leads the country in light
vehicles, wind mills, harrows and many
o,her branches of manufacture, she still
pins her faith and hope and trust to the
celery lands and the celery lords.
Low, MARsHY LANDS.
The 5000 acres Of celery lands were
once next Of kin to a huge marsh. The
city is built on n slight rise of ground in
AAAN Ai'An u a. NdlIGA d L
tween the original site of the own and
the foothills were once these low, marshy
lands The HOllanders, who were raising
upland celery here, were among the first
to discover that these lowlands could be
raine and made the best celery lands in
the country. Successful experiments re-
suited in n revolution. The marshes, for
merly of little if any value, Immediately
commanded an excellent price in the real
| estate tnDrkat A 1aroa TRACT nf land oil
most in the heart of the city, which had
been left in its primitive condition, was at
once seized upon and divided by far see
ing Hollanders into small tracts, each one
OF which afforded an excellent living for
one of the good sized families for which
that nation is famous.
After all the lands south and west of
the city had been devoted to celery culture
the boon shifted to the north, and through
the pioneer efforts of the late DR.. Uriah
Upjohn another half mile of thickly set
tied celery territory was added unto the
city. To reclaim these lands only re-
quired the excavation of trenches leading
TO the neighboring creeks. Then, with a
banking up of the sides, and, perhaps, a
little filing in, the lands were converted
into some of the richest soil which lies out
of doors. There are no reliable celery
figures, but enough is known to warrant
the knlamazulu for claiming for his city
the celery championship of the world.
Tie markets of New York, Chicago, st.
Paul, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and all
large cities are supplied from Kalamazoo.
Tho delicious stalks even find their way
to san Francisco, Texas, Florida and New
England, arriving in excellent condition
after their long journey.
CAREFULLY PACKED.
The celery is carefully packed in boxes
holding from eight to fifty dozen, and is
shipped by express and refrigerator cars.
During the buster season over u dozen ex-
ira wagons are put on by the express com
panies to transfer the product to the out
going trains, and the streets seem to wit
ness the continuous passage of an attractive
celery procession. Time was when the
season lasted but from September to Jan
uary, but now the demand is incessant
and the capability of the Hollander ac-
cordingly elastic, and the shippers are idle
only during the months of April and May.
This year the first celery came into mar
ket June s, or nearly three weeks ahead
of the average year. The first shipments
were a June 10, and it goes without
saying that Chicago was the objective
point. The old impression that celery
only went with oysters is now obsolete.
1t is eaten the year round wherever it can
be obtained. The method OF bleaching
celery now III vogue does not need n frost,
and June celery is just as crisp and tender
as is September. The product at Kalama-
ZOO will closely approximate 800, 900
dozen per annum, which, at twenty five
cents, brings in 1915, 900. The business
is principally done by the buyers, although
many raisers ship their own product.
Celery raising has added its thousands
to the population of the city. Not a week
goes by without witnessing the arrival OF
forty or fifty Hollanders, who plod s~toically
through the streets in their wooden shoes
and soon become absorbed in celery raising
and form a part of the great common
wealth. In the eyes of the residents OF
the city these people are a nation by them
selves, resembling nothing in the heaven
above or earth beneath. They are called
"Celerys"-simply that and nothing more.
They make good citizens, however, and
native born inhabitants are reasonably
proud OF them. They nave done one
thing, at any rate-they have demon
strated that the wilderness may be made
to blossom as the rose, and that n hOmely
and malaria infected marsh may be
converted into n rich soil, in which may
be raised the toothsome and crisp celery
the alleged great nerve food.-Eugene
- -